I am floating on one side, one ear submerged, the other relatively dry and pointing to the sky. In my left ear I listen to what’s underneath, underwater, unseen and untouched. My right ear acknowledges the world above. In the midst of it all, there’s me, relatively cold. I am steadily moving downstream, breathing and making involuntary noises.
Beneath the surface of the Danube there are mysterious bugs, sizzling crevices, maybe lava, who knows, it’s out of my reach. Above me lies the known world of birds and people and all things visible. And bats, which are something special.
I always imagined big ships would generate a lot of low frequencies underwater. I was so wrong. Because now I can finally see it with my right eye and I hear it with my left ear.

*recorded on hydrophones and ultrasonic microphones

Sound piece composed with recordings made during SONIC FUTURE RESIDENCIES organized by Asociația Jumătatea plină and SEMI SILENT at Port Cetate, Dolj county, Romania, in September 2022.

Selected at Grand Prix Nova, Bucharest, Short Form category.

Photo: Lloyd Dunn

Sillyconductor is one of the monikers of Cătălin Matei, a composer and sound artist from Bucharest. His work reflects his different interests, from innovating recording techniques for church organs, creating improvisational instruments and interactive installations to setting up sonic playgrounds for kids or writing music for theatre or games, always trying to blend mathematical rigor with a healthy dose of the absurd. For the past years he has been working with research institutes on different bio-art projects looking for means of sonifiying of the unperceivable.

Recordings, composition and mixing by Sillyconductor for SEMI SILENT.